2017 State of Linux Kernel Development

The Linux kernel, after more than a quarter of a century, is stronger than ever. The 2017 State of Linux Kernel Development report offers an update on recent work on the most successful open source project of all time.

Linux Kernel Development: Version 4.13

Since 2005, a total of 15,637 developers have contributed to the Linux kernel. #kernelreport

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During this reporting period, the community merged changes at an average rate of 8.5 patches/hour. #kernelreport

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2017 Linux Kernel Development Report

Linux is one of the most successful collaborative development projects in history. As it has grown, Linux has come to dominate nearly every market it enters, including cloud, mobile, embedded, and supercomputing. This remarkable and sustained growth wouldn’t be possible without the rapid evolution of the Linux kernel and dedication of the kernel community. Regular releases deliver stable updates to Linux users, each with significant new features, added device support, and improved performance.

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Linux Kernel Community

Download the report to learn more about some of the people who work on the kernel and why they choose to contribute their talents to Linux.

Julia LawallSenior Researcher, Inria

I like the chance to interact with a community with a very high level of technical skill.

Jens AxboeSoftware Engineer, Facebook

It’s gratifying knowing that your code is running on billions of devices.

Kees CookSoftware Engineer, Google

I’ve always loved working with low-level software, close to the hardware boundary.